A–B
Term | Meaning Agent | An AI that can take actions — read files, run commands — not just answer. API | A way for programs to talk to each other; how a terminal reaches a model. Backend | The server side of a product; where auth and token pools live. Benchmark | A standard test used to compare model performance.
C–E
CLI | Command-line interface: the terminal program you type into. Context window | How much text a model can "see" at once, in tokens. Deep research | A workflow that gathers sources and produces a cited brief. Dependency | An extra program a tool needs. "Zero dependencies" = install-and-go. Endpoint | A specific URL that accepts requests, e.g. the gateway. Extension | A small add-on that gives the terminal new skills.
F–L
Fine-tuning | Extra training to specialize a model for a task. Foundation model | A large general-purpose model (e.g. Claude, GPT, Gemini). Free tier | A usage level with no cost (e.g. Community tune is ₹0). Hallucination | Confidently wrong output. Great tools reduce it with citation. Inference | Running a model to produce an output (vs training it). LLM | Large language model — the engine behind the text. Local / local-first | Running on your own machine rather than a cloud.
M–R
Model | A trained AI that turns prompts into outputs. Multi-agent | Several AI roles cooperating on one task. Multi-model | One tool that switches between many model families. MCP | Model Context Protocol — a standard for connecting tools to models. Obsidian | A notes app; the terminal can write and search your vault. Prompt | The message you send to a model. Provenance | Record of where a claim came from — a sidecar file shows your sources. RAG | Retrieval-augmented generation: citing retrieved knowledge rather than guessing.
S–Z
Sidecar | An extra file beside an output recording how it was made. Stack | The set of technologies a product runs on. Token | The unit of text a model reads/writes; ~1–2 per word. Token pool | Your monthly allowance of free/Pro tokens. Workflow | A described multi-step task the AI runs (lit, audit, etc.). Zero retention | Not storing your data after the session — privacy by design.
Products, cleanly separated: x = Expert AI (free-to-start CLI). Expert AI Terminal Pro = a paid desktop/USB terminal. Expert AEC Terminal = the AEC knowledge community. This site is about the first one.
Put the terms to work
- Start using these in a real terminal.
- Read the full documentation.